All time tackles leader?

#1
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MrBiggles

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#1
I was reading Bleacher Report and they said that if AJ Johnson has a good season and gets 90 tackles he would be second on the school's all time list. So who is #1 and how many tackles did he have?
 
#6
#6
Jax_Vol said:
547 tackles.
Click to expand...

That is including assists...Spiva had 354 primary tackles with 193 assists. He also leads in all time forced fumbles with 14....Leonard Little is the all time leader in tackles for loss with 53...That is high company for AJ.
 
#7
#7
Its a little bit of a good/bad thing when you think about it.. In order to have that many tackles you have to be on the field..ALOT. It means the defense as a whole is not getting off the field on third downs and such. Many times in the 70s,80s,90s, and such the leading tackler in the conference was from Vandy..
 
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#8
#8
Nocleats said:
Its a little bit of a good/bad thing when you think about it.. In order to have that many tackles you have to be on the field..ALOT. It means the defense as a whole is not getting off the field on third downs and such. Many times in the 70s,80s,90s, and such the leading tackler in the conference was from Vandy..
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In this case, that was true. Andy was on some turrible teams! The end of the Battles era....bad bad bad.

If Andy didn't tackle them, they scored.
 
#9
#9
Nocleats said:
Its a little bit of a good/bad thing when you think about it.. In order to have that many tackles you have to be on the field..ALOT. It means the defense as a whole is not getting off the field on third downs and such. Many times in the 70s,80s,90s, and such the leading tackler in the conference was from Vandy..
Click to expand...

Good point...You will also see Keith DeLong's name high among our tackles leaders both for a career and for a single season (1988). Just like Spiva and AJ, he was a LB on two VERY bad defenses ('86 and '88).
 
#10
#10
Nocleats said:
Its a little bit of a good/bad thing when you think about it.. In order to have that many tackles you have to be on the field..ALOT. It means the defense as a whole is not getting off the field on third downs and such. Many times in the 70s,80s,90s, and such the leading tackler in the conference was from Vandy..
Click to expand...

Just an eleven game season back then too.
 
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#11
#11
However being a good tackler, (wrapping up and holding on) as opposed to trying to kill with your shoulder is a dying art it appears. AJ gets it!
 
#12
#12
Remember the team plays 3-4 more games a year than the old timers ever did. You need to look at tackles/game rather than total number with the discrepancy in games played per year.
 
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#14
#14
I think some people give Johnson too hard of a time. He's been a beast when it comes to finding the ball carrier, and I understand that many see him as a liability in the passing defense, but what middle LB can cover WRs? Not many. AJ has been forced to stretch his talent due to our lack of depth at LBs over his career. He has been on the field constantly in every situation, under which most teams would have pull him or any middle linebacker for that matter. I've always liked him and hopefully with some of the influx of players he can have a chance this year to shine with more rest. I still expect him to be on the field majority of the time however. He is the heart and soul of this defense.
 
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#15
#15
I'd like to see a DT lead the season in tackles because most of theirs are at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield. Gobble them up before the LBs get a chance!

Wishful thinking!
 
#16
#16
Spiva was and is still one of my favorite vols of all time. Although not the most gifted he truly gave all he had for Tennessee every game.
 
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#17
#17
I remember I was an incoming freshman when Andy Spiva was a senior. I had a professor with the same last name (no relation) who was elated that everybody now knew how to pronounce his last name due to Andy's prowess on the field. So sad to see Andy leave this earth so early.
 
#18
#18
1982Alum said:
Remember the team plays 3-4 more games a year than the old timers ever did. You need to look at tackles/game rather than total number with the discrepancy in games played per year.
Click to expand...

And yet people jumped down my throat and out my rear when I stated Sammy Baugh was a better player 9as opposed to pure QB) because he played very effectively as a QB, Kicker, and DB (multiple interceptions) among other positions. It was a different time and players were tougher, multi-talented, and basically iron men. A lot of players today simply can't do what such guys did back then. Including cramming all those tackles into an 11 games or fewer season as is discussed in this thread.

[Awaiting attacks from the knee-jerk Volgod worshippers.]
 
#20
#20
Nocleats said:
However being a good tackler, (wrapping up and holding on) as opposed to trying to kill with your shoulder is a dying art it appears. AJ gets it!
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. As much as I hate to say it, AL always wrapped up and made the tackle while TN tried to deliver the BIG hit with the shoulder. Shoulder tackles end up giving the opposition a lot of extra yards. Extra yards to the opponent spells defeat.
 
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#21
#21
I knew Andy when he was at Tneenssee.He would be all over the field.Played alongside,I believe,Steve Poole and Art Reynolds(jack's brother).Hardest head I ever "cocobutted" at the Last Lap.The announcer at Neyland stadium would say,"tackle made by Andy Spiiiiivaaaa!
 
#22
#22
MrBiggles said:
I was reading Bleacher Report and they said that if AJ Johnson has a good season and gets 90 tackles he would be second on the school's all time list. So who is #1 and how many tackles did he have?
Click to expand...



Andy Spiva with 547 tackles. That is an incredibly number.

That is 137 tackles a season. Which means on defense and on special teams.

Remember back in the 70's, they had less games to play per season. 1st the team wasn't good enough to qualify for a bowl game, so that is one less game being played.

2nd there was no S.E.C. championship game.


3rd the schedule didn't feature a 12 game regular season schedule.
 
#23
#23
Spiva played in 47 games in his college career, which at 547 tackles in his career = 12 tackles per game.
 
#24
#24
Rudy123 said:
Andy Spiva with 547 tackles. That is an incredibly number.

That is 137 tackles a season. Which means on defense and on special teams.

Remember back in the 70's, they had less games to play per season. 1st the team wasn't good enough to qualify for a bowl game, so that is one less game being played.

2nd there was no S.E.C. championship game.


3rd the schedule didn't feature a 12 game regular season schedule.
Click to expand...

I know that AJ can be a beast, but Spiva did not play much as a freshman (6 games, so limited snaps) with talent in front of him and had fewer games overall. While records are records and totals are the final measure in the long run, compare their sophomore through senior totals against one another after this fall. I'm glad that AJ is back and hope he has a great season, but if AJ can best Spiva's soph thru senior years, then he'll have had a great career on the Hill.
 
#25
#25
Rudy123 said:
Andy Spiva with 547 tackles. That is an incredibly number.

That is 137 tackles a season. Which means on defense and on special teams.

Remember back in the 70's, they had less games to play per season. 1st the team wasn't good enough to qualify for a bowl game, so that is one less game being played.

2nd there was no S.E.C. championship game.


3rd the schedule didn't feature a 12 game regular season schedule.
Click to expand...
Not saying AJ is the better player or taking away from what Spiva did, but it's worth noting that in the 70s most teams still leaned on the run game, so MLBs were probably more likely to have a lot of tackles in a game.

Now there are 2-3 games a season where LBs are near non-factors due to HUNH/passing offenses.

Not that that makes Spiva's record any less impressive, just saying that I'm not sure the way football is trending that that record will ever be broken.
 
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